$40 million in Skechers refunds headed to consumers

Once upon a time, before Kim Kardashian was the mother of North West, she tried to convince us that her Coca-Cola bottle shape was due in some part to the Skechers “toning” sneakers she endorsed.

I said it then and I’ll say it now: Girl, please.

Actually, her steamy 2011 Super Bowl ad played a major role in a huge advertising deception that millions of people bought. Literally.

And now, some of those sneaker-buyers will be splitting a $40 million settlement. Checks will begin to go out this week to more than 500,000 consumers who filed claims in a class action lawsuit against Skechers for deceptive marketing of its Shape-ups “toning” shoes, the Federal Trade Commission has announced.

It’s too late to file a claim. The postmark deadline was April 18 and the settlement received final approval in May. Click here to read a Houston Advocate blog post from May 2012 with more information.

“As part of its efforts to stem overhyped health claims, last year the FTC alleged that Skechers deceptively advertised its toning shoes, including making unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight, and strengthen and tone their buttocks, legs and abdominal muscles,” a news release issued on Thursday said. “Besides Shape-ups, the FTC alleged that Skechers also made deceptive claims about its Resistance Runner, Toners, and Tone-ups shoes.”

A settlement administrator starts mailing 509,175 checks on July 12 to eligible consumers who submitted valid refund claims. The checks must be cashed on or before Oct. 10.

“The amount consumers will receive is based on the portion of their claims that was approved,” the release said.